WSOC Travels To Northwestern, Western Michigan

The Marquette University women's soccer team (0-1-1, 0-0-0 BIG EAST) hits the road for a pair of matches this week, wrapping up a stretch that has the squad away from Valley Fields in 3-of-4 outings to begin the year.

The Golden Eagles travel to Northwestern (1-1-0, 0-0-0 Big Ten) at 4 p.m. CT on Thursday, Aug. 22 before traveling to Western Michigan (1-0-0, 0-0-0 MAC) on Sunday, Aug. 25 at 12 p.m. CT.

Gibson Hero In Hometown Win

Kansas City native Kate Gibson headed home an Alexa Maletis corner kick with 12 seconds left in regulation to allow Marquette to rally for a 1-1 draw against Kansas City on Sunday afternoon at Valley Fields.

Playing in her 51st career game for MU, the St. Teresa's Academy product netted her first goal since scoring on Sept. 21, 2023 versus DePaul in a 2-1 victory.

Lineup Features New Faces

Marquette's starting lineup in the opener against Colorado featured six players making their respective first-career starts with the Golden Eagles, including three collegiate debuts.

Three more players would earn a first-time spot in the starting XI for MU against Kansas City and in the opening two matches, a total of 10 players have seen action in the Blue & Gold for the first time.

Allen Makes Debut As Head Coach

Last week marked the head-coaching debut for Chris Allen, who is in his first season with the Golden Eagles after a successful eight-year run on the staff at Saint Louis.

Allen helped guide SLU to a 131-30-11 overall record, five Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season championships (67-6-5 record in A-10), six A-10 tournament titles and six-straight NCAA Championship appearances.

During his tenure, Allen coached five All-America selections, 15 all-region honorees and 25 all-conference team members. A total of 10 players claimed an A-10 player of the year award (offensive, defensive, goalkeeper, rookie) and multiple student-athletes were honored for academic success.

MU Honors Dr. Lovell In 2024

The Marquette women's soccer team, and all programs at MU, will honor former president Dr. Michael R. Lovell this season by wearing patches on its uniforms in 2024-25.

Dr. Lovell passed away in June after a courageous battle with cancer and was a tremendous ambassador for the university and greater Milwaukee community.

Dr. Lovell served at Marquette for 10 years and was a strong supporter of all the student-athletes at the university and a familiar face in the crowd at hundreds of competitions during his tenure.

MU Faces Pair of Familiar Squads

The Golden Eagles faced both Northwestern and Western Michigan at home in 2023, falling to the Wildcats while rallying for a 2-1 win over the Broncos.

In the matchup against WMU, the Golden Eagles netted a pair of second-half scores, highlighted by a match-winning penalty kick at the 88:46 mark by midfielder Isa Cook.